Billiard and pool table.



E. T. BURROWES.

BILLIARD AND POOL TABLE.

APPLIGATION FILED AUG. 26, 1914.

1,125,461. Patented Jan.19,1915.

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EDWARD T. BUR-ROVTES, 0F PORTLAND, MAINE.

BILLIARI) AND POGL TABLE.

wearer.

Original application filed March 19, 1914, Serial No. 825,854.

Specification of Letters Patent.

26, 1914. Serial No. 858,856.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD T. Bonnowns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Portland, in the county of Cumberland and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Billiard and Pool lables, of which the following is a specification.

This application is L CllVISIOH of my copending application Serial Number 825,85 l. The invention of this application relates to improvements in game boards, and particularly to beds for light, portable billlard and pool tables.

In my prior Patents, Nos. 674,729 and 739,28 I have shown billiard table beds composed of narrow strips of wood, dovetailed and glued together to form continuous playing surfaces. In the manufacture of billiard and pool tables with such beds, the bed, instead of fitting snugly against the side and end rails of the table, is spaced from the rails as illustrated in Patent No. 739,284, and also in Patent No. 1,005,151, granted to F. M. Burrowes. Beds thus constructed and arranged and supported upon transverse girders, clove-tailed into the bed, to prevent warping, as illustrated in the latter patent, have proved, in the main, very satisfactory. Notwithstanding great care taken in selecting the material and gluing and seasoning the beds, I. have found that individual beds in the course of time develop slight elevations or bulges at points along the margins of the wooden slats, which bulges render the playing surfaces uneven, and 'these local distortions of the surfaces I attribute to moisture entering the slats at the time the latter are glued together, re-

suiting in local expansion and the consequent slight bulging of the surfaces at more or less frequent intervals along the edges of the slats. Another disadvantage of the beds referred to, made of wooden strips or slats glued together throughout their lengths, is that the material for the beds must be gotten out, glued and seasoned for several months several months for the beds to be made up and thoroughly seasoned.

One purpose of my present invention is to provide a billiard or pool table bed which will be free from the objection first mentioned above, namely the local expansion and bulging of the material at points on the surface of the bed; another purpose of the invention is to provide a bed which-may be played upon and marketed without waiting a long period of time for the bed to season after being assembled, and a still further purpose of the invention is to provide a bed I which may be fitted closely within the side rails of the tables, instead of being spaced a distance therefrom, without expanding as a whole to such an extent as to exert harmful pressure aga'mst said rails. These objects are accomplished by providing throughout the top or playing surface of the bed, numerous small openings so disposed or arranged that the. material may expand into these openings. I By this arrangement local expansion of the material is taken care of locally, with the result that the bed is not expanded to any considerable extent as a whole by the accumulation of a multiplicity of local expansions, nor is the playing surface caused to bulge in spots as hereinbefore referred to.

In my original application Serial Number 825,854, I have 7 shown several forms of game boards in which provision is made for taking up the expansion of the material locally. In the present application I have shown one of said forms, in which the table top is composed of a plurality of parallel slats, each having one straight edge and having integral separators on its opposite edge, the separators on each slat abutting against the straight edge of an adjacent slat, and the separators on the several slats being in staggered relation throughout the playing area, whereby staggered spaces are formed between the slats into which the material may expand locally. Preferably the separators are spaced and arranged so that the slots or openings formed between adjacent pairs of slats will overlap one another, and the separators on the several slats will bear against the opposing slats at points opposite the openings. Thus, the separators and slots alternate, transversely of the board, and any pressure of the several slats against one another that may arise from lateral expansion will be exerted at points in line with the openings where the material may yield and crowd into the openings, thus preventing Warping or expansion of the top as a whole.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a billiard table or pool table bed embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 1. 3

Referring to the drawing, A indicates the billiard table bed as a whole, comprising a top a and a supporting base a. The base 0, consists of a rectangular frame 1 adapted to lit within the frame of the bil-. liard table, and cross-bars or slats 2, spaced suitable distances apart, secured to the side barsof the frame 1 and having their upper surfaces flush with said side bars. The top a rests upon the cross-pieces and sidebars of the base, as shown in the drawing, and it comprises a plurality of narrow parallel slats 3 and 3*, each having one straight edge anda series of integral separators or projections on its opposite edge, the separators on the several slats being of substantially uniform length and evenly spaced apart, and the separators on the slats 3 being alternately arranged with respect to the separators on the slats 3. The slats 3* at one side of the top has two straight edges, as no.

separators are required on this slat. The slats of the top are secured to the crosspieces of the base by suitable means such as nails 6. It will be seen that by the arrangement described the separators are staggered throughout the top, as are likewise the spaces or narrow slots 5. Preferably, the slots in adjacent longitudinal rows overlap one another, and it will be noted also that the slots and; separators arealternately arranged in rows running transversely of the top. This arrangement permits themaplaning without waiting-a long period oftimefor the beds to season, as is necessary where the strips are glued throughout their length, as before mentioned. lhe slits or spaces between the slats are quite narrow, not over 1- of an inch in width, and these do not interfere with the smoothness of the playing surface, as a layer of suitable material, such as sheet fiber or cloth, will be laid or stretched across the top and interposed between the surface of the top and the usual billiard cloth covering.

That I claim is:

l. A billiard table top comprising a plu-.

rality of parallel slats each having one straight edge and having integral separators at intervals on its opposite edge, the separators on each slat abutting against the straight edge of an adjacent slat.

A billiard table top comprising a plurality of parallel slats each having one straight edge and having inte ral separators at intervals on its'opposite edge, the separators on each slat abutting against the straight edge of an adjacent slat, and the separators on the several slats being in staggered relation throughout the playing area.

In testimony whereof I atlix my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

EDWARD T. BURROWES;

lVi-tnesses lVALTER S. DOW, Anion M. GuuNnY.

Copies of this patent may he obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

- Washington, I). C. a 

